The Mad Tycoon of Rome

Chapter 228: The Great Battle

< 228. The Great Battle >

“Lord Supreme Senior Warrior! What should we do?”

“Please give us an order!”

“Should we retreat again? Or should we fight as we are?”

Bayatur felt dizzy from the shouts of his subordinates.

What should he do?

He wished he could ask someone for an answer too.

But if he showed any weakness here, everything would be over.

The highest leader must always be calm and rational in any situation.

Bayatur took several deep breaths and tried to review the situation objectively.

“The enemy cavalry that is causing trouble in the rear is not very numerous, right?”

“Yes. Judging by the words of those who managed to escape, they seem to be less than 10,000.”

“That number should not be enough to find the people scattered in that vast plain…”

Bayatur was furious when he first heard the report.

But he soon regained his composure when he learned that the Roman cavalry unit stationed in the rear was small and mocked Marcus’s wrong judgment.

The nomads have a completely different lifestyle and range from the settlers.

Unlike the settlers who live densely in huge cities, the nomads live evenly spread out in the vast grasslands.

Moreover, since 80,000 cavalrymen had already wreaked havoc, most of the Huns’ tribes were in a state of chaos.

There was no way that a small detachment could find and kill the few survivors who were sparsely left.

He thought that those who reported the raid at first were just unlucky enough to be discovered.

But strangely enough, survivors who had been attacked by Roman cavalrymen came to the Huns’ camp one after another.

“I’m from the Noso-ho tribe. Most of our tribesmen were massacred by the Romans and all our livestock were taken away!”

“Lord Supreme Senior Warrior! The Romans are attacking people and destroying villages every day. Please help us!”

“This is absurd… How did this happen?”

It was impossible for a small force to invade and slaughter multiple tribes simultaneously like this.

‘Maybe the assumption that they have less than 10,000 is a misunderstanding of the survivors? In fact, they left much more troops behind?’

Bayatur could not make a quick decision as he was confused.

There were too many possibilities to be sure of anything.

The first assumption that Marcus had left at least tens of thousands of cavalrymen behind was a bit far-fetched.

That seemed too many considering the number of cavalrymen visible in the current Roman camp.

If they had that many cavalrymen left behind even after joining forces with the main force, how many cavalrymen did the Romans mobilize for this war?

‘No. But I can’t just say no either. If the Romans came out with full force, it wouldn’t be surprising if they brought more than 100,000 cavalrymen… Damn, I can’t clear my confusion. Or maybe there’s a traitor?’

The second inference was quite plausible.

If there was a traitor who knew the locations of various tribes and sided with Rome, it would make sense.

But without enough information, he couldn’t easily reach a conclusion either way.

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If he made a plan based on a wrong conviction, he wouldn’t know where and how he would trip up.

The more he needed to approach cautiously in such situations.

But no matter how hard Bayatur tried to stay calm, his surroundings did not leave him alone.

“Lord Supreme Senior Warrior! Two more villages have been attacked today. There is growing unrest among the warriors.”

“You fools! Who told you to let the survivors contact the warriors!”

“Well, it seems that the tribal chiefs are too curious…”

Bayatur initially tried to block information completely.

He thought it would be better for the warriors not to hear any unnecessary information until they defeated the Roman main force.

Anyway, it was a small number.

The damage that had to be tolerated would be small and there wouldn’t be many survivors who could make it this far, so it would be easy to control them.

He was wrong.

The Roman movement was different from last time when they meticulously carried out annihilation operations without missing a single person.

They undoubtedly let some survivors go on purpose.

Almost every day, survivors who reported raids arrived at the Huns’ base and pleaded with tears for Rome’s atrocities.

There was no way to block information like this.

Bayatur was sure that this was also part of Marcus’s plan.

“He only uses dirty and petty tricks until the end. He wants to scratch our nerves as much as possible before we fight.”

Now he didn’t have much time left to choose.

He had to make a decision by today at the latest or else the warriors’ dissatisfaction would explode.

The tribes who had lost their families were already shouting to fight with Rome right away.

On the other hand, the tribes who had confirmed that their families were still safe were arguing that they should withdraw some of the troops to the rear and secure the safety of the rear.

It was not easy to fight with the enemy with a clear mind when they didn’t know when their families would be attacked.

Bayatur also considered the option of withdrawing about 10,000 soldiers to the rear.

It was not to kill the Roman army in the rear, but to stabilize the minds of the soldiers.

But he soon gave up.

He was not sure of the exact size of the Roman army in the rear.

They didn’t look like less than 10,000 from the speed they were sweeping.

What if the inference that there was a traitor was wrong?

What if Marcus had just left 20,000 or 30,000 troops behind?

Sending only 10,000 cavalrymen would only result in annihilation.

The warriors were already unstable enough, and if the cavalrymen sent to the rear were wiped out, it would be really over.

And if he took out more than 30,000 troops from here, it would be too much of a loss.

It was impossible to send troops to the rear.

With that conclusion, there was only one way left.

He had to settle with the Roman main force immediately and then retreat to Sinegachar with the whole army to have some time for reorganization.

If the decision was delayed a little bit, he might not be able to control the warriors’ discontent.

Maybe this was what Marcus wanted, but he had no choice.

He gathered his four sunoos and tribal chiefs and announced in a determined voice that the time for the final battle had come.

“We will fight with the Romans. Prepare well.”

Batzargal closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

It was not the best choice, but he knew well why he had to make such a choice.

Altan asked with a serious expression.

“Are you sure you’re going to settle it for good? Right here?”

“Yes. The time for the showdown is as soon as dawn breaks tomorrow. We will end everything on this plain!”

Fortunately, the standoff time itself was not very long and the Roman army was also moving north, so they were not building a fortified camp like before.

He could turn around enough.

As long as they fought on the plain, they had never lost a battle so far.

The four sunoos and tribal chiefs believed that it would be the same this time.

No, they had to be sure of it.

※※※

“They seem to want to have a proper fight with us.”

Unlike the Huns’ army that was shaking with anxiety and anger, the Roman camp was peaceful.

“It’s not bad for us. You can see that they are already nervous from their movements. They won’t be able to maneuver precisely like before if they start fighting like that.”

Marcus looked around his audience as he sat at the table and agreed with Caesar’s words.

The arrangement of those who attended the highest command meeting was Caesar on the right and Marcus on the left.

Rabienus and Vercingetorix were sitting on either side of Caesar.

Antonius and Surenas were next to Marcus.

Publius could not attend because he was checking the equipment of the cavalry unit for the last time.

Vercingetorix had been glancing at Surenas ever since he sat down.

He must have been curious about him as he was a unique immigrant elder in Rome.

Surenas also seemed to be scrutinizing Vercingetorix closely.

Caesar ignored such atmosphere and fixed the topic on the upcoming battle.

“We got what we wanted, but there’s no guarantee that the battle will be smooth. You’ve fought with them once, so you must have some idea of their strength. How were they?”

“They are obviously better than us in pure riding skills. They use saddles and their composite bows are close to ours in performance, so they are formidable forces. But this time we are also fully prepared, so it will be different from last time.”

“That’s right. We invested all our resources in producing new equipment without resting after the battle in Greece.”

The unit that Bayatur fought with in Greece was one of the most powerful and well-equipped ones among the Huns’ army.

On the other hand, the Roman army had much more complete equipment than then, so it was incomparable.

Moreover, most of the Huns’ army now consisted of those who were burning with excessive revenge or those who were anxious about their families’ safety.

No matter how calm their commanders tried to be, it was almost impossible to fully control these subordinates.

“They must have nothing but thoughts of getting rid of us and going back as soon as possible in their heads. It’s easy to predict how they will come out and respond accordingly.”

“Are you sure that the Huns didn’t send any troops separately to strike at our detachment in the rear?”

Rabienus, who had been listening to the conversation between the two imperators, asked cautiously.

Marcus nodded his head with a relaxed smile.

“I didn’t think they would from the beginning. They can’t be sure how many soldiers are behind them.”

Surenas added in a serious voice.

“That’s why we only sent scouts to locate the Huns’ villages. We can just use the detachment to raid the places we identified later.”

“Then the Huns will be confused. They won’t know if we have at least 20,000 or 30,000 troops left behind and divided into several units.”

“I see. That’s why they couldn’t rashly form a counterattack force.”

“But that also means their anxiety will only grow. They don’t know how many soldiers are behind them, so they can’t estimate how much more damage they will suffer. They must be filled with the thought of wanting to do something about us as soon as possible.”

Rabienus and Verkingetorix’s faces were filled with admiration.

Especially the two men who had suffered a lot from the Huns felt a sense of satisfaction.

Caesar did not hide his interest and asked a question.

“By the way, this method of using ships to strike the enemy’s rear is not used in Rome. It’s quite a novel feeling. The strategy of thoroughly provoking the enemy’s annoyance and anger is also like that. Where did you get the inspiration from?”

“A friend of mine once said that. He said that strategic battles are about making the opponent angry.”

Caesar chuckled.

He nodded his head and said.

“That’s a very agreeable statement. Your friend must have had a twisted personality.”

“Maybe so. There were so many people who were obsessed with making others angry.”

Marcus recalled his memories of when he was Lee Jaehoon and gave a bitter smile.

He had not lived a very affluent life, so he naturally only went to places like PC rooms that did not cost much money when he hung out with his friends.

But among his friends who played strategy games together, there was one guy who was so persistent that he would load his troops on transport ships and only attack the rear bases.

Playing games with those guys was annoying even if he won, and if he lost, he wanted to smash his keyboard with anger.

But the more he showed such reactions, the more his friend enjoyed it.

He was the guy who said weird things like ‘games are about making your opponent angry’.

But when he tried to play similarly, it was very satisfying to see the opponent’s reaction.

This strategy was also inspired by that.

War is different from games, but the point that it is advantageous to provoke the enemy’s anger as much as possible is the same.

The enemy who is narrowed by anger and impatience tends to make mistakes that they would not normally do.

Even if they do not make mistakes, they unknowingly become much simpler in their battles than before.

The Roman army had already prepared everything to crush the Huns who were rushing in.

The majesty of the Roman legions, which numbered over 400,000 and lined up in formation, was truly magnificent.

The emperor mounting his horse was the signal for the start of the battle.

Thousands of flags rose up in unison with the sound of trumpets.

“Forward! Maintain your formation!”

Spartacus’ booming voice echoed with the trumpet signals.

The waiting time was not long.

Soon, the enemy army appeared on the other side of the plain.

The sound of horse hooves that shook the ground seemed to engulf the Roman army at any moment.

No one was afraid of the enemy’s exhilarating charge.

“Prepare for battle!”

Following the commanders’ signals, the archers in the front row aimed their arrows.

As soon as the enemy approached within range, tens of thousands of arrows were fired from the Roman camp.

The Roman army, which aimed to erase the legend of the Huns who dominated the great plains and create a new myth, finally fired their signal flare for battle.

< 228. The Great Battle > End